Genesis 24:5
“And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?”
In the verse above, Abraham faced a situation that seemed harmless. His son Isaac had no woman to marry, and he wanted to be sure to find a good wife for him. When he commissioned his servant to find a wife for his son among his kindred, the servant was concerned that the young lady wouldn’t be willing to follow him. In the verse above, the servant asked if he could bring Isaac back to the land if the young lady were not willing to follow, and Abraham wisely refused the offer. Abraham understood that he didn’t come out to go back, but he came out to stay out.
Every Christian needs to make the same decision that Abraham made in that he didn’t come out to go back, but he came out to stay out. With so many Christians going back to the world, there can be a temptation to go back with them, but you must not go. Three principles must be learned if you are going to stay out of the world.
First, there will always be a good excuse to go back. The servant’s request seemed to be a reasonable request, but Abraham didn’t come out to go back. There is always a reasonable excuse to go back, but the reason is unreasonable to God. When you made the decision to come out of the world, you didn’t make that decision to go back to it. The reason the flesh gives to go back may seem to make sense, but it is never a good reason. Whatever your reason may be to go back, it is never a scriptural reason.
Second, going back is a heart direction. The servant certainly didn’t have the same heart that Abraham did, and that is why he wanted to take him back. Anytime a person desires to go back it reveals the direction of the heart. I have yet to see a person go back who didn’t drift towards the world. Going back is the direction towards which the heart is pointing. Good excuses can be given as to why you want to go back, but it is revealing the heart’s direction. A person’s desire to go back only reveals that their heart has already gone back. You can reason that a person has a good excuse, but God’s direction is always forward and not backwards. God’s will never takes a step backwards; the excuse to go backwards is only a cloak to cover the heart’s worldly leanings. The heart’s direction will eventually be revealed when you give your excuse to go backwards.
Third, don’t be satisfied with staying out and allowing your children to go back. I love it that Abraham wasn’t going to stay out but send Isaac back. Every parent needs to make this same decision that you didn’t come out to send your children back. If it is good enough for you to come out, it is good enough to keep your children out. As a parent, you must fight to keep your children from going back to the world. If the world cannot get you to come back, it will always try to pull your children back. You must resolve that your decision to come out and stay out is not only good for you, but it is good for your children as well.
Christian, you came out of the world because it destroyed your life. Time and distance may soften the memory of the world’s hurt, but the world’s grip hurts as much today as it did when you came out. Resolve today that you came out to stay out, and don’t let anything pull you or your children back.